Taiwan must develop proper sex education curriculum

Some people say that living a life with regrets is in a sense not really living. We should never regret our lifestyle, friends, actions or deeds. In order to move forward in life, we should take the experiences of our past and use them as stepping-stones to help us reach our new goals and dreams. In other words, we shouldn't let the past hold us back. We should never regret anything, because at one time it was exactly what we wanted.

Yet, according to a survey released on June 7, over 40 percent of Taiwanese college students have regretted their decisions to have sex. Among the 2,054 college students who responded to the poll conducted by the Taiwan Association for Sexuality Education, 44.1 percent of men and 30 percent of women said they have engaged in heterosexual sex.

Despite the gap between male and female students, which may be attributed to the teenagers' apprehensions in talking about their sex lives, 45 percent of male and 43 percent of female respondents expressed regret after physical intimacy. Even more worrisome is that the survey pointed out that only 30 percent of men and 28 percent of women said they or their partners have used condoms. Over 50 percent of men and 23 percent of women in the survey said they have had at least one one-night stand.

It is certainly not a secret that many high school students are sexually active today. While some are very conscientious and practice "safe sex," many do not and they may be exposed to sexually transmitted diseases. They might think that they are invulnerable, but they are not, and condoms are readily available in convenience stores. "Save a life — use a condom!" might sound like well-timed advice when combined with a comprehensive program of sex education to help teenagers become more sexually responsible, but it is not that simple. Taiwan is still experiencing a growing number of teenage pregnancies and more sexually transmitted disease. So, what's the problem?